I was already planning to go visit Cleveland this weekend and this was the only half marathon race option. It is basically a glorified training run for the Cleveland marathon. … MORE
I was already planning to go visit Cleveland this weekend and this was the only half marathon race option. It is basically a glorified training run for the Cleveland marathon. That sounds kind of negative but it’s exactly what it is and the race doesn’t claim to be anything else. It is a very cheap race with $25 registration and extra perks if you raise more money. It is designed as cheap option for runners looking for a supported course for their 20 mile run for the Cleveland marathon and also has 5K, 10K, half and full marathon option. The race is chipped timed and has a well marked course but it is all on trails and sidewalks and open to traffic and you have to obey traffic laws. The races start at a bar and that’s where packet pick-up is. The swag item is a pint glass. The pint glass is absolutely adorable and I do love it. It has these two ducks and one says “I ran today!” and the other says “cool.” The course is throughout Cleveland. There were plenty of arrows and markings and they also gave a piece of paper with directions as well. It had the same start and finish lines. They said they tried to make a course with minimal road crossings but that was a lie. The first half of the course was very reasonable for an open course in quiet neighborhoods and about 1.5 miles on the towpath then another mile on another paved trail and then again through a quiet neighborhood. There were aid stations every 3 miles or so. I did carry water since they weren’t as frequent as I’d like but frequent enough for the cost. What was at the aid stations was varied some just water, some gatorade, some snacks and gels. One issue is aid stations didn’t have bathrooms and I had to go really bad in the middle of the race and ended up wasting 3 minutes going at a convenience store on the route. These miles though really had minimal road crossings and I had a decent about 14 minute/mile pace. The next half was really cool for scenery but so annoying for a closed course as we went through downtown Cleveland. We passed the football stadium, the rock n roll hall of fame, the baseball stadium and run along busy streets. While it was a cool tour of the city, it was the stupidest course for an open course. I lost 2 to 3 minutes each mile waiting for crosswalks. After living in California for 6 years I am trained to not jay walk but you literally lost about 20 minutes unless you jay walked. There was also some construction is some areas making it hard to maneuver. I can’t figure out why they didn’t just do an out and back on the towpath. It would be kind of boring but so much better for running an open course. If I were to designed a similar race in Rochester I would put it just about all on the canal path. The constant stopping downtown also made it hard to get in a groove. My finishing time was super slow but if you account for the 20 minutes I spend stopping for traffic it wasn’t as bad as it looks. At the finish there was some food but they ran out of granola bars. There was some fruit and m&ms. There were a ton of granola bars on course. They should have had more granola bars at the finish and less on course. There is no medal but that is okay for a cheap race and they never said there was one. Overall I did think this was a cool tour of Cleveland and I applaud the RDs for making an affordable race but I did not enjoy stopping for traffic so much and as a result would not strongly recommend this race. I’d really only recommend this race for locals who are either looking for a training run for the Cleveland marathons or for local half fanatics and marathon maniacs looking to increase their numbers in a cheap way. It was either this race or no half marathon since it was the only one in Cleveland so I’m happy I did it but would only do it again if I happened to already have plans to be in Cleveland and I would recommend they change the course so less time is downtown and more is the towpath
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Glorified Training Run for Marathon
I was already planning to go visit Cleveland this weekend and this was the only half marathon race option. It is basically a glorified training run for the Cleveland marathon. … MORE
I was already planning to go visit Cleveland this weekend and this was the only half marathon race option. It is basically a glorified training run for the Cleveland marathon. That sounds kind of negative but it’s exactly what it is and the race doesn’t claim to be anything else. It is a very cheap race with $25 registration and extra perks if you raise more money. It is designed as cheap option for runners looking for a supported course for their 20 mile run for the Cleveland marathon and also has 5K, 10K, half and full marathon option. The race is chipped timed and has a well marked course but it is all on trails and sidewalks and open to traffic and you have to obey traffic laws. The races start at a bar and that’s where packet pick-up is. The swag item is a pint glass. The pint glass is absolutely adorable and I do love it. It has these two ducks and one says “I ran today!” and the other says “cool.” The course is throughout Cleveland. There were plenty of arrows and markings and they also gave a piece of paper with directions as well. It had the same start and finish lines. They said they tried to make a course with minimal road crossings but that was a lie. The first half of the course was very reasonable for an open course in quiet neighborhoods and about 1.5 miles on the towpath then another mile on another paved trail and then again through a quiet neighborhood. There were aid stations every 3 miles or so. I did carry water since they weren’t as frequent as I’d like but frequent enough for the cost. What was at the aid stations was varied some just water, some gatorade, some snacks and gels. One issue is aid stations didn’t have bathrooms and I had to go really bad in the middle of the race and ended up wasting 3 minutes going at a convenience store on the route. These miles though really had minimal road crossings and I had a decent about 14 minute/mile pace. The next half was really cool for scenery but so annoying for a closed course as we went through downtown Cleveland. We passed the football stadium, the rock n roll hall of fame, the baseball stadium and run along busy streets. While it was a cool tour of the city, it was the stupidest course for an open course. I lost 2 to 3 minutes each mile waiting for crosswalks. After living in California for 6 years I am trained to not jay walk but you literally lost about 20 minutes unless you jay walked. There was also some construction is some areas making it hard to maneuver. I can’t figure out why they didn’t just do an out and back on the towpath. It would be kind of boring but so much better for running an open course. If I were to designed a similar race in Rochester I would put it just about all on the canal path. The constant stopping downtown also made it hard to get in a groove. My finishing time was super slow but if you account for the 20 minutes I spend stopping for traffic it wasn’t as bad as it looks. At the finish there was some food but they ran out of granola bars. There was some fruit and m&ms. There were a ton of granola bars on course. They should have had more granola bars at the finish and less on course. There is no medal but that is okay for a cheap race and they never said there was one. Overall I did think this was a cool tour of Cleveland and I applaud the RDs for making an affordable race but I did not enjoy stopping for traffic so much and as a result would not strongly recommend this race. I’d really only recommend this race for locals who are either looking for a training run for the Cleveland marathons or for local half fanatics and marathon maniacs looking to increase their numbers in a cheap way. It was either this race or no half marathon since it was the only one in Cleveland so I’m happy I did it but would only do it again if I happened to already have plans to be in Cleveland and I would recommend they change the course so less time is downtown and more is the towpath